Every Season in this World
by Yok
Summary: Yamamoto Takeshi/Shindo Hikaru : A chance meeting on a train, a bullet, and a match of Go. What would be a better courtship than this?
1. The Meeting

**Every Season in this World** (subject to change)  
**Pairing:** Yamamoto Takeshi/Shindo Hikaru (Yep, it's a cross over between Hitman Reborn! and Hikaru no Go) hints of Yama/Tsuna, Hibari/Tsuna, and Akira/Hikaru  
**Warning:** um... bad grammar & awkward phrasing? I dunno man, it was a type or _die_ kind of battle! (hint: google "Write or Die")  
**Summary:** A chance meeting on a train, a bullet, and a match of Go. What would be a better courtship than this?

Yamamoto sighed as he looked out through the window. The train was moving so fast to his destination that the scenery behind the glass blurred together like muddy river after a hard rain.

He was heading to Aomori because of a prod from the "little guy". He only heard the infant mentioned something about Tsuna's safety, and he couldn't be out for this mission fast enough. Grinning ruefully, Yamamoto thought back to the last few days he spent avoiding Tsuna and had to sighed again. He was fully aware that what he had done was not and would not make the matters go away, but he just couldn't stop the urge to avoid the problem for as long as possible.

Clenching his hands until the knuckles turned white from the force, Yamamoto leaned back into his seat and wait for the train to stop. He would soon arrive at his destination and, after the mission which he would finish as soon as possible, he would confess his sin to Tsuna. It's the least he could do for someone who had saved his life. It was the right thing to do. And even though he might be in serious pain because of this, he intended to do it anyway.

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a loud screech as the door to his compartment was ripped open and a boy - no, a young man rather - entered his line of sight. Even ten years from now on, Yamamoto would still could not explain what was the feelings fluttering just outside of reach inside his chest.

The young man was clad in a casual attire mostly composed of jeans and a lot of number 5s. What was most striking about this person would be his round eyes, which Yamamoto could unashamedly call pretty. His jet black hair was tied in a high ponytail, but Yamamoto easily could judge how very long it would be if left loose. He was lean, almost skinny. His skin was pale like someone who had not been under the sun for quite a long while. All in all, he was ridiculously pretty.

Yamamoto only noticed the fan when the young man raised his hand to shut the door with a loud bang. It was a plain white fan made of Japanese rice paper, but its texture was rich and it looked extremely expensive. Judging from the gentle way he treated the fan (as opposed to the way he handled the door or the way he threw his carryall onto the seat), he seemed to care for it a great deal.

He could swear that his heart almost slowed to a stop when the stranger turned his pretty eyes to him and the pale face turned a fetching pink.

"Um...," the young man stuttered, "I didn't see you there."

Yamamoto nodded (no, he didn't know what he meant by this nod either!) and smiled as he gestured for the young man to take a seat opposite him. "I don't mind the noise. Haha. There's this friend of mine who is always really loud."

The young man gave a small smile as he seated himself. When he didn't seem to be prompt with introducing himself, Yamamoto could not resist his unexplained curiousity about the other.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, by the way," he said, trying to sound casual and had to mentally winced when it came out more enthusiastic than Ryohei on a bad day.

The other hesitated but, apparently already casing Yamamoto out for whatever reason, eventually he said, "I'm Shindo. Shindo Hikaru."

When Yamamoto didn't make as if he knew of that name, Shindo relaxed and smiled in relief.

"You seemed tense just before," Yamamoto said, his mouth as usual ran faster than this head, or he wouldn't say such thing.

Coughing to hide his embarrassment, Shindo rubbed the back of his head and admitted, "Well, I'm kind of, well, I am like a celebrity to some people. Just a few minutes ago, I was running from a groupie-- forget I said that, or Nase will kill me."

Yamamoto had no idea who this Nase girl was, but he started to not like her for some weird and unexplainable reasons. He also didn't like that Shindo was harassed by this groupie.

"I think I'll rest here for a while before moving on, if that's all right with you?" Shindo asked as he grabbed for his carryall and rummaged through it for something.

"No," Yamamoto said faster than he could think (again), "you don't have to move! Like I said earlier, I really don't mind the noises. You can stay here until your fans go away."

Shindo paused in his search and glanced at the door. Well, the door seemed sturdy enough to hold off a few fangirls who weren't -probably- trying to look for him very hard. "You sure?"

At Yamamoto's nod, Shindo grinned. "Ah, thanks so much!"

"I'm taking off at Aomori," Yamamoto offered.

Shindo looked surprised. "Me too! I'm heading for the match right after checking in at a hotel though."

"The match?" Yamamoto frowned as he tried to place Shindo with any sport he knew off. Shindo's physique was lean and even though he wasn't short, he's not really tall. Neither his arm or leg muscles were developed like an athlete. And Yamamoto would definitely remember this kind of face on a baseball field. So no, not baseball player, perhaps a jockey?

The other licked his lip and said, "I'm a professional Go player..."

Go? This was not the word Yamamoto was associated with very often in his life. He heard about it once from his gramp who's a Go enthusiast, and he heard it once or twice in news report when he was looking for the news about baseball.

There was a pregnant pause before Yamamoto grinned winningly. "My gramp probably hears about you a lot then!"

Shindo was about to reply when there was a loud screech and he was thrown down onto the dirty floor followed by the heavy weight of Yamamoto on top of him. As he opened his mouth to protest, Yamamoto covered his mouth with his left hand while his right grabbed for a long sword. Eyes wide, Shindo shut up immediately and waited for the other to proceed with whatever he was going to do.

Lifting up into an awkward crouch to avoid crushing the smaller body beneath him, Yamamoto struck his sword behind him in a fast and graceful arc. They both heard the loud crank as two pieces of metal fell down, almost in the same shape it used to be before Yamamoto's sword tear it down from its path.

It was a bullet.

Shindo would have been freaking out now if it was not too unbelievable. It was a freaking bullet! What the heck?

Glancing at the other, Shindo found himself even more speechless as a huge transformation occurred before his very eyes. The gentle and happy face of Yamamoto turned serious and his laughing eyes could almost be called deadly. The previously smiling mouth was pressed into a thin line as he inspected the bullet.

"...Millefiore?" might be what Yamamoto had muttered before he jumped up and opened his, before now unnoticed, suitcase. Pulling out a thin blanket of sort, Yamamoto turned to Shindo and ordered curtly, "Keep your head low and do not run anywhere while I take care of this bastard."

Shindo could only nod and gulped as yet another -probably- bullets tried to pierce through the blanket Yamamoto used to cover the window. Amazingly, none of them managed to come pass it.

"How the hell did they know about this mission?" Yamamoto complained as he rummaged through his suitcase once again for his cellphone.

"Little guy," he said without any pleasantry, "we have a problem here."

He paused as a tinny voice answered him, then continued, "no, I have a civilian with me."

After another short pause, Yamamoto nodded. "Understood."

Shindo still did not know what to think after listening to the one-sided conversation. Was this guy, like, a cop undercover? Why would someone want to kill him?

"You will come with me," Yamamoto was saying, "I'm sorry, but you need to be under protection until we took care of the bastards who've seen your face."

Shindo protested, though only weakly, "What about my match?"

Yamamoto was apologetic but resolute, "I'm afraid you have to postpone it then."

Helping Shindo up and gently pushed him onto a seat, Yamamoto's cellphone rang, cut off any more of Shindo's questions.

"When?" he asked even before the other end of the line could say anything.

Receiving his answer, Yamamoto gritted his teeth and refused vehemently. "No, leave Tsuna out of this. Send Gokudera or something. Send me Squallo, even. And I need him now. We will be at Hibari's base until he arrived."

Without further ado, Yamamoto drag Shindo up, snatched both of their things and threw everything out of the door, though he was much more gentler when it's Shindo he's tossing out.

By now, the train had came to a halt as the passengers screamed and tried to escape with their lives intact, while the officers on board ran left and right, looking for the culprit and pretended that they could organise the escape route for passengers. Lucky for everyone that this particular point of the railway was cutting through a wide lush plain, and not on a cliff.

Shindo was still in a daze when he was drag through the mostly vacant train, dodging and jumping to avoid another volley of bullets. At the corner just before they could reached the door handle, a bullet whipped passed and seared across the tip of Shindo's index finger. With adrenalin shot through his veins, Shindo didn't complain when they jumped out and left a trail of blood on their way to the nearest tree.

Swinging his sword to block a few bullets here and there, Yamamoto tightened his grip on the other's wrist and pushed the other to hide behind a tree. When the bullets stopped raining on their tree, Yamamoto frantically searched around for the telltale stone statue, indicating Hibari's domian.

iThere!/i Yamamoto mentally cried in triumphant as once again he tossed Shindo out into the clearing next to the statue. To an untrained eye, this action did not result in anything except a surprised and pained cry from Shindo, but to Yamamoto, a flicker was sighted in the statue, betraying its disguise as a garden ornament.

His domain is breached, and Hibari did not take well with that...

Less than a minute later, the Cloud Guardian could be seen appeared from thin air just right outside the clearing, his face formed into a sadistic expression. Before his signature tonfas could show themselves though, Yamamoto threw something he had been hiding in his pocket to Hibari. Catching it, Hibari glanced at the thing for only a moment and, if it was at all possible, his face turned even scarier.

"Millefiore? Around here?"

Yamamoto didn't deem it's necessary to answer that question. He walked past Hibari to help Shindo up (perhaps "gather" would be more appropriate, as for others, Yamamoto looked very much like he was holding Shindo in a loose embrace) and noticed for the first time, his bleeding wound.

"You all right?" he asked softly, and sighed in relief when the other nodded. Very gently, Yamamoto wrapped his handkerchief on the wounded finger. He could not help but to stare at how small and pale the other's hand was inside his palm. How could he let anything happened to th--

"You herbivores should get out of my way now," Hibari said, his voice stated very clearly how his mood was right now. "I have crowding herbivores to bite to death."

Not needing any more prompt, Yamamoto muttered a thank and took out a ring. Shindo could not describe what the feeling he was having at the moment, but it soon passed as he was distracted by other things.

Well, he was pretty sure that this entrance way wasn't here just moments ago!

"Come on," Yamamoto urged, hand made as if to grab the other's wrist again but thought better of it.

As soon as he entered the facility, Shindo noticed the change in atmosphere. It was almost like Fall season was caged in here. The smell and overall atmosphere was like he was lost in Nara. At distant, he could hear soft music and the drip, drip, drip of water drops falling into a pond. It was so peaceful Shindo could not associate it with the younger man he saw earlier.

"Shindo-san, come," Yamamoto prompted again, waking Shindo from his reverie. "This place is Hibari's, and you don't wanna be out in the open when Hibari might come prowling down the hallway. He's probably finished with the bastards by now."

"Indeed," another voice confirmed, which made Yamamoto jumped almost a foot off the floor. Shindo watched with wide eyes as a man with a regent haircut stepped out from a half opened door.

"Please," the man said, "come this way, both of you."

Having no intention of arguing with Hibari's right hand man, Yamamoto signaled Shindo to follow the man's instruction. Shindo later learned that the man was called Kusakabe.

After a while, they ended up in front of a door which Kusakabe opened for them. It was a room a size bigger than the room Shindo had at home. The decoration was pure Japanese with sparsely any furniture.

"You two will stay here when I inform Kyou-san about this young man's injury and ask for a doctor's help," Kusakabe informed them and promptly left.

They didn't have to wait for long. When the door opened and a man stepped out from the doorway, Yamamoto's grin turned bright and genuine.

"Fucking baseball freak! What the hell have you done NOW?!" the newcomer screamed as soon as he saw the two of them sitting close together, Yamamoto holding Shindo's injured hand. (Yamamoto said something about inspecting the cut, but that was about five minutes ago, and Yamamoto still hadn't finished inspecting it.)

Wow, and Shindo thought *he* was the loud one!

"Yo, Gokudera!" Yamamoto greeted, finally letting go of Shindo's hand.

"Don't 'yo' me, you bastard! What were you thinking, compromising the family by bringing this brat here?!"

Brat?

"Brat?! Who the hell are you calling me brat?!" Shindo cried out, having had enough of this hectic day without this person calling him names.

Although, ...family? They all didn't, even a bit, looked alike.

"Ma, ma, Gokudera, this is an emergency. I was attacked on the train and he was injured because he had been sitting with me."

Gokudera looked every bit unmoved as he always had been if it did not involve his precious Tenth. "So WHAT? Reborn-san was nice enough to send me here. Perhaps to collect your bones. Now you can go and die so that I could finish my job!"

Shindo was not impressed. He was still angry at being called brat. He was pretty sure that the other was younger than him, possibly a few years younger even. Added to that, his new friend was being verbally harassed by this rude person! However, before he could do anything, a cold voice could be heard from the doorway.

"Gokudera Hayato," Hibari growled, "crowding with other herbivores and causing disturbances right in front of me. If you have a death wish, you simply have to ask!"

With that, Hibari strode into the room and made his displeasure known.

Within minutes, Gokudera was lying in a heap along with Yamamoto, both bruising nastily. Surprisingly though, Shindo opened his eyes to see that he was spare from this vicious punishment.

If someone dare to ask Hibari why Shindo was spare, he would get a surprising answer.

* * *

Fixed typo & stuffs: 21 Jun 09

Reviews make me write faster! ;p


	2. The Match

**A/N: **I can't remember exactly how old Hikaru was or what year it was when Sai disappeared, so I'm going to make my timeline simple and just say that Hikaru was currently 25, and Yamamoto was 23.

Thanks for taking the time to comment in the last chapter, and also for some that put the story on alert. Sorry I took so long for each update. Working life is a hard life, and I don't have much of free time on my hands.

* * *

"Are you all right?" Shindou asked quietly as Yamamoto moaned and shifted on his back. The one called Gokudera, Shindou noted with relief, was still unconscious.

"I'm awesome," said Yamamoto, who was looking anything but.

Hibari glared at them from the corner of his eyes and gestured to Kusakabe, who then promptly crouched beside his boss.

"Prepare a car," Hibari ordered, ignoring the puzzled look Yamamoto sent his way. "We're escorting Shindou Hikaru to his appointment."

Yamamoto's eyes widened. "Wha? But--"

He was cut off by Habari's words. "Shindou Hikaru will go to his match and if you think of protesting, I will bite you to death."

Shindou felt a shiver ran down his spine at Hibari's cold voice. He was not opposed to going to his match, obviously, but why and how did Hibari know about it in the first place? He didn't remember either Yamamoto or himself mentioning it.

Yamamoto gulped but tried to stand his ground. "It's dangerous for him to appear in public place so soon after the incident!"

"Know your place, Yamamoto Takeshi," Hibari said, eyes shone dangerous glint. "Shindou Hikaru is required at this particular match. Won't you agree, Shindou?"

Shindou must admit this match was really important to him. It was, after all, the fist match he would be playing after he gained the title of Kisei. Besides, iTouya/i of all people would be the challenger!

"I do have to go there," Shindou said, apologetic eyes shot Yamamoto's way.

"Then it shall be arranged," Hibari murmured, mouth formed into a satisfied smirk.

Kusakabe was quiet when he left the room, and the silent after that was so prominant Shindou was filled with an uncomfortable feelings that he fidgeted. He glanced at Hibari's turned back and at Yamamoto's sulking face and had to mentally sighed. This was going to be a long day for him.

"Hey, how about that rude guy? Can we leave him here?" Shindou frowned, pointing at the still unconscious Gokudera.

Yamamoto hesitated for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Don't worry, I'm sure he can take care of himself."

Shindou nodded along at Yamamoto's decision. It's not like they're leaving a child behind. That guy was an adult, he could take care of himself. Besides, if he could come here alone, then it's rather logical to think that he could find his way back to where he had came from by himself.

Being such an efficient person, Kusakabe walked in not later than ten minutes after to inform them that the car was ready. He would personally take Kyou-san, Shindou-san, and Yamamoto-san to the hotel. He then proceeded to say something that made Yamamoto kind of twitched and Hibari frowned.

"Tsuna is coming here?" Yamamoto exclaimed, biting his lips in displeasure.

"Che." Hibari glared at nothing in particular.

Kusakabe nodded. "Sawada-san should be here in a few moments."

Yamamoto made noises about getting away before 'he' came, but the look on Hibari's face shut him up quite fast.

Sensing a confused look Shindou threw his way, Yamamoto reluctantly explained. "Tsuna is my... boss."

Shindou was confused. "Won't it be very bad for your job if you don't wait to see your boss?"

That caution almost made Hibari laugh. Even Kusakabe was unsuccessful to hide his smile.

Yamamoto rubbed at his nape and admitted. "Not... really. Tsuna is the coolest boss ever, so there's no worries."

Shindou was skeptical. "Are you sure you want to come along? Though your boss might not mind, but I'd rather not put you in any difficult situation."

"You're so considerate, but I promise Tsuna really won't mind," Yamamoto insisted. To make his point even more clear, he made to grab for a baseball bat sitting near his suitcase and looked at Shindou expectantly.

Upon hearing the word considerate, for a brief moment Shindou was seized with longing. What he had just said would make Sai proud, and perhaps he would also said that Shindou had grown up some, finally. He didn't let himself be in miserable mood for long though. Swallowed a lump in his throat, Shindou gently picked up his fan and his carryall. In less than ten minute, Shindou found himself lounging comfortably in a black nondescript car, heading southwards.

Yamamoto who was riding shotgun turned to look at Hibari with badly hidden curiosity.

"I thought you won't arrive here for another two weeks? Not that I wasn't grateful, mind, but I was counting on Kusakabe-san's help to rid of those pests. Reborn said you might be here, but I was still surprised."

"I finished the assignment earlier than expected," Hibari replied, sounded suspiciously like he was mentally rolling his eyes.

"Well, um," Shindou interrupted. "I'm pretty sure there's not better time to ask what the heck was going on? We probably won't ever meet again, and not knowing why I had to go through that kind of situation will kill me. So let's talk about this before we reach the hotel. Please?"

Yamamoto looked about to protest, but Kusakabe beat him to it.

"Shindou-san, I hardly think that Yamamoto-san will allow you to go on your own with no protection."

"But I DON'T need protection! Whoever is after you guys will surely leave me alone now that we're not together."

Shindou, even while arguing loudly, noticed that a look was exchanged between Hibari and Yamamoto. Annoyed now, Shindou turned to glared at Yamamoto, who then sighed and smiled helplessly. "What? WHAT IS IT?"

Kusakabe glanced at him from the rearview mirror, his expression full of empathy. "Shindou-san, you really are not safe. Wherever you go from now on, the Millefiore will follow you. It is in your best interest that Yamamoto-san remains at your side, at least until we're certain that they lost interest in you."

Yamamoto was looking at him with such an earnest face. "I can not express how sorry I am for dragging you into this mess, but--"

"What the heck is Millefiore, and why are they hunting you?" Shindou demanded.

"Shindou-san, we're in the mafia, and Millefiore is a rival family."

Shindou was speechless. Of all the things he had been expecting as an explanation, this wasn't one of them. Mafia?

"The _what?_ How?" Shindou sputtered out, but before more could be said, Hibari shifted in his seat to glare at him.

"You're annoying me, Shindou Hikaru. Be quiet like when you're in a match," he admonished, his tone strangely soft for Hibari.

With that said, everyone fell into silence. Even though Shindou was itching to know more _(Mafia? What the heck?)_, he wisely kept his mouth shut and his eyes trained on the back of Yamamoto's skull. They arrived at the hotel and Shindou checked in quickly. He was scheduled to be taken pictures with his challenger, Touya Akira, and the witnesses within five minutes.

The reporter found him first. Shindou ignored Kosemura who stared with obvious curiosity when he saw Yamamoto hovering anxiously over Shindou's shoulder while he signed the document given to him by a hotel staff.

He didn't let Kosemura have any opportunity to raise questions and busied himself with reading through the document twice, then carefully signed on the dotted line, and went on to closely examine his fan. Kosemura looked vaguely disappointed, but left them alone for now. He made sure not to look up when there was a small commotion at the entrance which lead to a private sitting room, and a familiar voice rang out amidst the noises.

Shindou glanced at his watch. Two minutes until appointed time. He so didn't look forward to it. He was early, sure, but he was supposed to meet Touya at the station fifteen minutes before they're due at the hotel. He knew the other saw him when a pair of feet could be heard rushing across the lobby to stand near his bowed head, still leaving a bit of distance between them to allude some sort of politeness.

"You're late," Touya said pointedly.

Shindou pursed his lips, but managed to keep himself from sighing in irritation. "I know, it's not like I meant to be late."

"The least you could say is 'I'm sorry, Touya, this would never happen again'!" Touya scoffed.

"Man, cut an injured guy some slacks here, would you?" Shindou said, almost threw his arms up in exasperation.

"You are injured?" Touya's expression changed from annoyance to concern, but what he planned to say more, however, was cut off when he noticed the three looming presences behind Shindou. Well, two of them were looming, while the last one with dangerous aura was sitting a few metres away but with his eyes firmly planted on Shindou's back.

Wordlessly, Shindou waved his bandaged finger in front of Touya. He didn't realise that it had started bleeding again until he saw Touya's eyes widened in shock.

"What happened? Were you in an accident?"

Shindou glanced at Yamamoto, looking for some kind of a clue as to what he could and could not say in front of Touya. Saying that he was in a firefight between two mafia families was absolutely out of the question. To simply say that he was accidentally shot was also not going to do any good as well. Touya would _flip_.

Kusakabe, once again, came to the rescue. "That was my fault, Touya-san. I accidentally dropped a set of kitchen knifes I was carrying and Shindou-san was kind enough to help me collect them. Unfortunately the train ride wasn't that smooth and he cut his finger on a knife. There's that much blood because the wound is quite deep."

"I see," Touya said, blinking slowly like he still couldn't believe his ears. However, in the next sentence, his eyes narrowed a fraction. "How did you know my name?"

Yes, _how?_ Shindou stared at Kusakabe strangely. His weird explanation for the origin of his injury aside, Kusakabe and his companions were all a bit of a dilemma. For example, Hibari's apparent knowledge of his scheduled match and the way he acted as if he had been observing Shindou for a long time before they even met.

"My superior, Hibari Kouya-san, is interested in Go. We had the opportunity to watch more than a few of your games."

That lost Touya's interest effectively. Touya Akira, the current title holder of Meijin was, after all, very used to having a fan in unusual individuals. Shindou's suspicions, too, disappeared immediately. _That_ would explain why Hibari seemed to know about him a lot.

"I see," Touya repeated, turning to scrutinise Shindou's bloody bandage. "Shouldn't you go see a doctor? I'm sure the Go Institute can reschedule our match to a later date. That's your preferred hand, isn't it, you might have trouble holding the stones."

Shindou didn't think that far ahead. "Damn, you're right. How am I supposed to hold the stone with my finger in a bandage?!"

"Seeing that it's my fa-- I mean, my friend's fault, maybe I can place the stones for you?" Yamamoto volunteered.

Touya looked thoughtful. "I have never seen it done in an official match before, but perhaps one of the witnesses or the reporter will know for certain."

Shindou brightened a bit at that. "Yeah, let's ask them."

* * *

TBC


	3. Touya Akira

**A/N:** My apologies for taking soooooo long for each update!

If you've read the last chapter in which it abruptly ended with Shindou shouting that he couldn't hold the stones with his finger in a bandage, you might want to read the last few lines again. I posted the chapter before I went to work, and didn't realise the chapter uploaded wasn't the most updated version. Sorry about that.

I've changed how Kusakabe addresses Shindou and Touya. Totally forgot about their sensei status. Sorry about that. /facepalm

Again, thanks for the reviews, favs, and alerts. All those are highly appreciated.

* * *

"Obviously, it's not allowed!" Kosemura exclaimed as soon as he heard Shindou's proposal.

Shindou didn't waste his breath to remind him that Kosemura was a /reporter/, and not a judge. However, he could see that even if the representatives from the Go Institute hadn't said anything yet, their thoughts were the same as Kosemura.

"Yamamoto-san," one of the judges - Kageyama or something, Shindou couldn't recall his name - said, looking at the mentioned boy in appraisal. "I assume you know how to play Go?"

Yamamoto looked sheepish as he replied, "Unfortunately, no, the only thing I've learned about Go is that it's played on a Go-board..."

"Goban," Shindou muttered, looking quite embarrassed.

Kageyama sighed at his answer. "Well, in that case, I'm afraid we can't allow you to place the stones for Shindou-sensei. Since this is an accident, we will reschedule the match to after Shindou-sensei was fully cured."

Shindou was actually relieved to hear that. Even if his proposal was accepted, he realised he wouldn't be able to gather his thoughts and concentration after such a day.

"Oh, all right then."

Hibari, however, looked extremely displeased. Kusakabe noticed the spreading dark aura and was prompt to interfere. "In that case, why don't we take Shindou-sensei home so he could rest?"

Looking like he only backed down because it would be too much trouble otherwise, Hibari hmmed and walked away, presumably to go back to their car. Left with no better choice, the others docilely followed suit.

Well, not without Touya's protests, apparently. The man frowned darkly as he stood strong in front of the door, successfully blocking their path.

Shindou sighed and hoped to the gods that Hibari wasn't in the mood to kill anyone, _especially ones with long and girly hair_...

To everyone's surprise, Hibari only said coolly; "Get out of the way."

_Right, since he knew about me, then it's most likely that he knew about Touya. He's probably a fan, too._ Shindou thought, strangely annoyed by this conclusion.

It seemed that Touya finally caught up on Hibari's murderous aura. He glanced at Shindou nervously, but still stood his ground.

"Why, no, where are you taking him?" Touya demanded.

Again, it was Kusakabe who interfered. "Touya-sensei, Shindou-sensei is currently staying with us. It's the least I could do for making him miss his important match."

Touya wasn't satisfied with the answer. "Excuse me for asking, but wouldn't it be more reasonable if you just admitted him in a hospital so he could be treated?"

"We are taking him." Even though 'and that's final' wasn't added, the implication was clear. Since the speaker of such sentence was Hibari Kyouya, that meant no more protests would be tolerated.

"Then I'm coming with you," Touya said.

If Shindou didn't know better, he would believe that the tone was petulant. That aside, this was one of the times that made Shindou doubt whether Touya was a hot-blooded youngster who believed in ideals over reasons, or simply a stubborn head.

"No." Again with the implied 'and that's final'. For the first time, Hibari looked at Touya with an expression akin to assessment. And by Hibari's standard, that assessment usually ended in two categories; bite-to-death-now, and bite-to-death-later.

Touya bit on his lip, hesitation apparent but eventually backed away from the door. He turned to look at Shindou with a blank face.

"I'll call you tonight, Shindou. Make sure you open your cellphone."

Rolling his eyes at the jab, Shindou muttered a compliance. "Fine."

* * *

TBC


End file.
